Genetically Engineered Banana with Resistance to Banana Bunchy Top Virus

Case ID: 00733

Case ID:

00733

Web Published:

1/7/2010

Description

Researchers have developed transgenic banana of the cultivar Dwarf Brazilian that have been engineered to contain altered transgene sequences from the genome of Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV). These transgenic banana plants are resistant to infection by BBTV and do not develop symptoms of banana bunchy top disease after exposure to BBTV. These plants are being propagated in tissue culture and will be screened for desirable horitcultural traits and further evaluated for BBTV resistance under field conditions.

Applications

Field resistance to BBTV in the banana cultivar Dwarf Brazilian

Benefits

Effective control of BBTV in dessert bananas that is not possible with conventional breeding or selection.